Email me at Aaron@Patch.com
I began college at the University of Connecticut in 2004 with a love of history and the written word.  After traveling around Central America and Europe, I realized I wanted to be a part of recording history as it happened, not just analyzing others' renditions of the past. Journalism became a natural fit, and as print publications continued to shrink and disappear altogether, it became clear that the future of reporting, especially in the written form, would be online. At UConn I wrote for and helped edit UdotConn, the university's first news source published solely online, and after graduation I took a job covering the town of East Hampton for Hamptons.com, a pioneer in local online news coverage servicing the East End of Long Island.  By the end of my tenure with Hamptons.com, I was working as the news editor for the entire South Fork, from Riverhead to Montauk. A New Englander born-and-bred, I was excited about the opportunity to return to Connecticut with Patch. Coming to Brookfield, a quintessential New England town, certainly feels like coming home. Your Beliefs At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know. POLITICS How would you describe your political beliefs?  I am socially liberal, but otherwise quite conservative.  While I believe in small government and a tax structure designed to promote small business, I do believe that government should have a role in our daily lives, including access to affordable heath care and vocational and scholarly education, along with the defense of our country and regulation of our financial systems. Live and let live. Are you registered with a certain party?  Republican RELIGION How religious would you consider yourself? (Ie, casual, observant, devout, non-religious).  It's complicated. Do you identify with a certain religion? If so, which one?  No LOCAL HOT-BUTTON ISSUES What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?  Brookfield residents are currently preparing for a referendum on April 13 to decide whether to bond a significant amount of money for improvements to the roadways and town parks.  In addition to this vote, the newly elected First Selectman is pitching the idea of continuing to borrow at steady levels as the town pays off existing debt in order to establish a capital fund for future improvements.  While the town's infrastructures continues to deteriorate, its residents will have to decided how they want to pay for the upkeep. The town is also looking at the area known as Four Corners, at the intersection of Routes 202 and 25.  Before the Super 7 bypass was built, Four Corners was plagued by intractable gridlock on a daily basis.  Now, with the popular alternate route completed, planners, town officials and businessmen are looking at the area as a possible hotspot and village center. Where do you stand on each of these issues?  Personally, as I do not pay taxes in Brookfield, I have no dog in these fights.  Capital improvements and infrastructure maintenance are of the utmost importance, and the sooner such issues are addressed the cheaper they will be to fix and maintain.  Borrowing for such expenditures, and to retain a functional capital fund, is the modus operandi of most municipalities, however they should take care not to borrow beyond their means, a problem all too common in today's society. Few would disagree with the calls to improve the Four Corners area, which suffers from a lack of continuity in architecture, sufficient parking and sidewalks for pedestrians.  How this will be accomplished and the ultimate design will be interesting to watch.